Data in portable terminals, such as portable computers, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) devices, mobile stations or pagers, can be synchronized with the databases of network applications, desktop computer applications or other telecommunications system data bases. The data of calendar and e-mail applications in particular is typically synchronized. Synchronization has been based on the use of different proprietary protocols that do not work with each other. This has limited the number of usable terminals or data types and often been difficult for users. Especially in mobile communication, it is important to obtain and update data regardless of the used terminal and application. SyncML (Synchronization Markup Language), which is based on the XML (Extensible Markup Language) language, has been developed for the purpose of achieving a more effective synchronization of application data. Using the SyncML synchronization protocol employing SyncML-format messages, it is possible to synchronize the data of any application between any networked terminals. Solutions have also been developed to synchronize device-specific data, such as the settings of a mobile station. One device management standard is SyncML device management that is partly based on the SyncML data synchronization standard.
Earlier, only a server device was able to synchronize the data of small terminals. This was due to the fact that the functionality of a synchronization server required a higher computational and memory capacity than small portable terminals could achieve. Along with the development of the technology, it has, however, also become possible to synchronize data directly between two small, but powerful terminals, for instance two mobile stations.